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08/30/2055
Oh Washington...how do you do it. The Bats are once again the powerhouse of the league as they turn in another 'Happy Unicorn' by going 7-0. They have now won 16 straight, built a 13 game lead in the Stout, and will win their fifth straight division title. They have gone 21-7 this month, and are the only team on pace to win 100+ games this season. Happy times once again in Washington. The other 'Happy Unicorn' of the week belonged to New Orleans? They have now passed Indy for the final wildcard spot in the Domestic, and are only a half game behind Maine, and one and half behind Pawtucket. Didn't these guys trade away all their stars? Throw in Dallas who went 6-0, and Carolina who went 5-1 (a little too late now Tobs) and it was a good week for a few fan-bases.
ELO Rankings
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| 1 | Washington | IL | 90-42 | 1552.8 | 61.1 | 1585.9 | 28.0 | 1599.1 | 14.8 | 1613.9 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | IL | 84-49 | 1518.1 | 52.9 | 1557.1 | 13.9 | 1573.0 | -2.0 | 1571.0 |
| 3 | Dallas | DL | 79-54 | 1541.7 | 27.1 | 1556.7 | 12.1 | 1558.1 | 10.7 | 1568.8 |
| 4 | Seattle | IL | 78-54 | 1535.1 | 25.1 | 1563.6 | -3.4 | 1566.8 | -6.6 | 1560.2 |
| 5 | Syracuse | DL | 80-54 | 1508.2 | 38.6 | 1547.3 | -0.5 | 1552.5 | -5.8 | 1546.8 |
| 6 | Baltimore | IL | 78-56 | 1492.8 | 50.0 | 1545.2 | -2.5 | 1559.0 | -16.2 | 1542.8 |
| 7 | California | IL | 76-58 | 1525.8 | 15.3 | 1548.8 | -7.7 | 1537.0 | 4.0 | 1541.1 |
| 8 | Pawtucket | DL | 72-61 | 1524.7 | 15.5 | 1525.6 | 14.5 | 1542.7 | -2.5 | 1540.1 |
| 9 | Santo Domingo | DL | 73-59 | 1502.2 | 33.5 | 1523.5 | 12.2 | 1541.4 | -5.7 | 1535.7 |
| 10 | Windy City | IL | 74-59 | 1506.4 | 21.3 | 1530.2 | -2.6 | 1532.8 | -5.2 | 1527.7 |
| 11 | New Orleans | DL | 71-62 | 1485.0 | 37.6 | 1513.0 | 9.6 | 1505.7 | 16.9 | 1522.6 |
| 12 | Maine | DL | 71-61 | 1483.7 | 27.2 | 1516.0 | -5.0 | 1509.0 | 2.0 | 1511.0 |
| 13 | Carolina | IL | 63-69 | 1525.0 | -18.0 | 1488.0 | 19.0 | 1492.1 | 14.9 | 1507.0 |
| 14 | Indianapolis | DL | 70-63 | 1489.0 | 7.4 | 1518.6 | -22.3 | 1495.9 | 0.4 | 1496.3 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh | DL | 60-72 | 1528.4 | -37.6 | 1467.9 | 22.9 | 1497.2 | -6.4 | 1490.8 |
| 16 | Wilmington | DL | 64-70 | 1518.5 | -27.9 | 1485.8 | 4.8 | 1491.4 | -0.8 | 1490.6 |
| 17 | Hartford | DL | 61-73 | 1514.3 | -28.0 | 1505.7 | -19.4 | 1491.0 | -4.8 | 1486.3 |
| 18 | Denver | IL | 58-75 | 1507.8 | -34.3 | 1483.9 | -10.5 | 1470.2 | 3.3 | 1473.5 |
| 19 | New York | IL | 56-77 | 1485.1 | -38.8 | 1477.4 | -31.1 | 1445.7 | 0.5 | 1446.3 |
| 20 | Philadelphia | IL | 53-80 | 1443.0 | -5.1 | 1417.0 | 20.8 | 1435.2 | 2.7 | 1437.9 |
| 21 | Phoenix | IL | 55-78 | 1447.6 | -18.8 | 1437.0 | -8.2 | 1430.3 | -1.5 | 1428.8 |
| 22 | Montreal | DL | 49-84 | 1479.1 | -62.3 | 1428.0 | -11.2 | 1422.2 | -5.5 | 1416.8 |
| 23 | Batavia | IL | 41-93 | 1460.7 | -75.0 | 1388.9 | -3.3 | 1394.5 | -8.8 | 1385.7 |
| 24 | Toronto | DL | 40-93 | 1424.7 | -66.6 | 1388.3 | -30.2 | 1356.6 | 1.5 | 1358.1 |
Performance of the Week
P Charlie Spence - He's still on pace for 363 K's as he once again turned in a top performance of the season, this time against Baltimore on August 25th. In the 6-0 win he went all nine innings, allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out 13. He's now 15-7 on the year with a 3.02 ERA and 132 ERA+.
Prospect of the Week
P Frank 'Magnum Dong' Reynolds - The 25 year old was an 8th round pick in 2050 thanks in part to his huge...arm. The guy can hit 100mph easily on the gun with his wicked fastball, and scouts think he can be a strikeout machine. His work ethic and intelligence are second to none, but his ability to generate any movement on his pitches has been a problem. He told reporters just last week in San Diego that it's not the size of the ship, it's the motion of the ocean...and no one had any idea what he was talking about. Never the less he might have a future in the BLB as a late game specialist.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We don't know what's going on in clubhouses with nicknames anymore, but Micheal 'Balls' Montoya has a 25 game hitting streak going in the Domestic. He's now tied for the longest Domestic hitting streak of the season with Jaxson Neal and Josiah White. He was also traded to Maine from New Orleans on July 5th, which was one day after his hit streak started. Since then New Orleans is 31-16, and Maine is 22-27. Maybe 'Balls' was the problem in the Voodoo locker room ? Montoya was the 10th overall pick of the 2048 draft by New Orleans but could never stay healthy. After being injured four times this year by July, the Voodoo had seen enough and sent him packing. Since then he's been hurt three more times, including breaking his finger and missing five weeks just days after being traded.
2. Poor Hartford must have angered the baseball gods this season. Currently the Whalers are sitting with a not so nice PYT of -10, double that of second place Pittsburgh and Carolina who come in at only -5. The Whalers are currently 61-73, yet 'should be' 71-63 and in second place in the Ale. They currently have a run differential of +33, which is more than double of the Clowns who have nine more wins. The only other positive R/D team with a losing record...Carolina. Sometimes the breaks just don't go your way.
3. We mentioned it above, but Charlie Spence is on pace to shatter the single season strikeout record of 342 held by Christian Vines. Currently Spence sits at 296, which is actually tied for 8th best all-time for a single year. If he throws just 10 K's in his next game, he'll be in 5th place all-time, and it will only be August 31st. Last season Spence was held back, and finished with 332. That was 3rd all-time behind Vines 333 K's in 2044 and 342 K's in 2046. Vines averaged 14.20 K/9 and 13.52 K/9 in those two years respectively. Spence was at 14.21 K/9 last season and is currently at 13.8 K/9 this season. The highest single season K/9 though was actually Vines in 2045, when he was at 14.53. He won the Pale Ale that season, but due to shoulder tendinitis he only started 28 games.
4. New Orleans might be having a heck of a season, but it's not thanks to their catchers ability behind the plate...at least when it comes to base runners. This season the Voodoo are successful a shockingly low 16.9% when it comes to throwing out runners. The league average is 25.25%, and the top team in the league is Santo Domingo at 36.8%. Currently they have Peyton Ames behind the plate, and he's hitting .267/.353/.475 with 5 HRs and 19 RBIs since he got called up in July. He's also just thrown out seven runners in 31 attempts.
5. What's on tap? How about the last interleague series of the year before the big interleague finale down the road...also known as the Brewmasters Cup. This week we get to see Washington travel to Syracuse, Seattle head to Dallas, New Orleans take on California, and Windy City face Maine. Streak wise Washington has won 16 straight, New Orleans has won 8 straight, Dallas has won 6 straight, 'Balls' has a 25 game hitting streak, and Kris Elliott (LAD) and Jerry Cook (DAL) haven't lost in 12 starts.
Stat of the Week
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| Highest Career Hit to Strikeout Ratio for Batters (Top 25 Players, Min 100 Career Hits) |
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